I love Karen McManus and her way to create a YA thriller. However, this one didn't captivate me the same way her others have. I found myself putting down the book often as it wasn't pulling me into the story. The mystery aspect never drew me in and the final reveal was less than exciting. Her writing was on-point, though and she still gave us a good story. This one just wasn't one of my favorites.

“You’ll be the Death of Me” by Karen M. McManus

High school students, Ivy, Mateo and Cal, were friends once upon a time. But those days are long behind them. Ivy has just lost a student president election to someone who was running as a mere joke, Mateo is exhausted from working double shifts after his mom can no longer support working full time for their family. And Cal hasn’t had good friends since he could label Ivy and Mateo with that title. When the trio has a chance meet up in the school parking lot before the start of a school day, they make a last-minute decision to ditch classes to go into the city, but no one gets the fun, relaxing day they needed. Instead, their day is interrupted by the discovery of the dead body of another student.
Rather than stick around and risk being caught ditching—or worse, in the presence of the dead body of one of their classmates—the three take off before the police arrive in the hopes that they can go home and pretend they didn’t have any part in the matter. Once they arrive at a safe location, they turn on the news to discover that a ‘tip’ has been called in: someone matching Ivy’s description was seen at the scene where someone called to report a dead body. To make matters worse, that student is the same class clown that just beat Ivy in the school election. Hence, the rumors and gossip at the school begin to fly. Fortunately for Ivy, she isn’t the only one of the three with a connection to the murder victim, and soon, the secrets start being unearthed.
Everyone’s got something to hide in this fast-moving YA from author Karen M. McManus. If you’re already a fan of McManus, then you’ll love “You’ll be the Death of Me.” And if you’re not a fan yet, then you surely will be after this one!

Reviewed by Abbey Peralta for Suspense Magazine

I liked this book, but I thought it was a little predictable compared to her other works. I didn’t see the twist at the very end, but I was able to guess the killer. McManus does a good job of bringing real issues (the opioid crisis) into this book, but I wish there was more a of lesson or statement being made about that social issue. It seemed just thrown in as a plot device.

Karen McManus has become an auto buy author for me, I have really liked/loved everthing shes written and this was definitley no exception.
Ivy, Cal, and Mateo are three friends who have grown apart.. But when they all are having a crappy day they decide to skip school and just go have some fun.. What they don't expect is to find a body.. of one of their classmates..
I really loved that this story took place in less than 24 hours. While the beginning was a little slower paced as the scene was being set, once the action starts, and the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to come together you wont want to put it down.
There are some awsome twists and turns, secrets are revealed..and I just had to finish it to figure out who the killer was, and how it was going to end. I had no idea who the killer was going to be until it was revealed. and with the ending we got I really hope were getting a sequel.. There is a character who was involved at least most of the stuff going on, but as they are cooperating with the police are really not seeing any consequences.. So I would love to see how our friend group is going to take them down..
I can't wait to get a physical copy of this to add to my collection!

This book has a slow start but gets better as the story goes on. I didn’t find it to be as thrilling as some of the author’s other titles but it was still an entertaining read. I will definitely be purchasing it for my high school library.

Look...in the interest of full disclosure, I'm not sure Karen M. McManus could write something that I wouldn't like. She's just...so good. Even if this wasn't her book, though, the premise really appealed to me. Friends who began to grow apart as they moved from elementary to middle school until ultimately they started traveling in different circles? Who hasn't lived that? I can certainly think of some friends from my earlier school days who, if presented with a chance in high school to spend a nostalgic day with, I would have leapt at the chance. And how could Ivy, Mateo, and Cal have predicted that this chance to recreate their "best day ever" would turn out to be a nightmare instead?

The twists and turns as the trio moved through their day kept me on the edge of my seat, and there were some delightful surprise moments from some of the side characters that delighted me as well. This was not a book I wanted to put down, and I'm already looking forward to reading it again when it comes out!

I liked this book, the mystery was pretty good, and it was a quick, enjoyable read. Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Classic Karen McManus, this book contains twists a turns enough to keep the reader guessing right to the last pages, shifting from desperately wanting to know everything to desperately hoping it isn’t so.

3.5 stars

Karen McManus has become a pretty solid staple in the YA mystery/thriller world, and this latest installment will keep current fans and new readers entertained.

This one is told from the perspectives of three friends, Ivy, Cal, and Mateo, who were very close in their early school years and who have drifted a bit now that they are ripe ol' high schoolers. They find themselves in a funny mutual ditching situation early on, and this is a pretty fun plot device: nostalgic in a good way. Events take a truly disturbing turn when they come upon...the dead body of someone they know.

One of the most gratifying parts of this novel is watching the friends work through how and why they drifted from each other and seeing if and how they'll find their ways back. Some of these folks are making what can only be described as terrible decisions, so there's more complexity than I initially anticipated when it comes to rooting for certain individuals and scenarios. I became FURIOUS with one of them.

Though this isn't my standout favorite of the McManus catalog, it's a great entry, and I think most folks will get exactly what they're hoping for here.

TW: grooming and predatory behavior between an adult and child (FYI nothing graphic, but this is present, and IMO handled responsibly)

This is just a regular old McManus who-dun-it, and they’re starting to all run together, in my opinion. There is nothing special about this book. It started off and had me hooked, but it quickly got boring. The main characters aren’t really likable, and they’re lacking chemistry.

And without too many spoilers, the problem in this book is not really appropriate for young adults. McManus is really losing credibility and lacking creativity. She could have at least provided a trigger warning at the beginning of this book and a number for a drug hotline. From teen suicide for attention to high school drug rings—she really needs to think about her audience more. By the end of this one, I was highly disappointed. There are MUCH better YA mystery authors out there.

I love McManus as an author. This book was really good. The plot has the twists and turns you would expect and the characters are well thought out. I enjoyed myself.

This is the best thriller I’ve read to date! Ferris Bueller meets One of Us is Lying. The story wrapped up nicely and I LOVE how the entire book was basically covering the span of just that one day. So cool.

Wow. Another winner from Karen McManus!
I think I loved this one the best so far out of all of her novels. Loved the Boston setting, the three POVs, the twists, and especially the long epilogue, to get everything squared away.
Can't wait for more!

I loved reading this book! I read it in one sitting because I had to know how it ended and McManus always delivers with her endings. My only critique was that there didn’t seem to be enough clues or red herrings. Everything just happened until the killer was revealed. I wish there had been more opportunities for tension.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off turned into a murder mystery.

This novel switches between Ivy, Mateo, and Cal’s perspectives. They were friends in middle school, but drifted apart before high school and ended up all skipping together one unlikely day senior year. However, this day leads them to trouble and secrets unravel.

One thing that was interesting is that the majority of the novel took place within one day. There is an event that night and with the three of them being at the wrong place at the wrong time and a clock on it now, that made the story fast-paced.

Also, in addition to the three perspectives there was also a “school news” in which these two characters reported (with a lot of bias) about their thoughts on the case. These excerpts were a nice touch to show what was happening outside of Ivy, Mateo, and Cal’s bubble. There were other ways of this being done (other news stories, texts, etc.), but I thought the addition of this throughout the novel made sense similar to how McManus has incorporated social media in other ways in her other stories.

I read a lot of YA (honestly, almost exclusively until recently). There was something missing for me in this book. The relationships between the characters felt lacking at times (which could be due to the time - as mentioned, most of the story was in one day). The reasoning behind actions at times didn’t make sense (and not in the way where you want to yell at a character for being dumb-although, that also happens). I wish I could better explain my thoughts (I’m writing this review after just finishing reading). There is just something missing. Maybe it’s the motives? Maybe it's how I wanted more when it all wraps up? I'm just not sure.

There would be some things I personally would want to discuss with younger readers (as an adult reader- I won’t go into detail due to spoilers). I also feel like the events these characters went through were vastly different and could have been addressed a bit more at the end with how the characters are healing after the events.

Overall, I am not the intended audience for this book, even though I am a teacher of the intended audience. I can see the formula of her other books present in this book and it was a quick read so I can see others enjoying it. It was just personally not my favorite.

Overall Review: 3 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and Random House Children’s Books, for the eARC in return for my honest review.

This solidifies it - I will read everything Karen McManus writes. We’ve got Ferris Bueller’s Day Off meets a murder, and I couldn’t get enough. I didn’t think this was her absolute best, but I flew through this page-turner wanting to see where it would go next, and it totally kept my attention and pulled me in. If you’re already a fan, you’ll love this one.

What if Ferris Bueller, Cam, and Sloane discovered a murder while on their Chicago tour? That's what happens when Karen McManus takes the concept of her popular novel "One of Us is Lying" and gives it a Ferris Bueller twist! Former friends Ivy, Mateo, and Cal are all having their worst days ever, so they form a tentative bond and ditch school together. But they find a dead body and they may each have a connection to the murder. A tight modern mystery with a HS social media aspect. Highly enjoyable.

This was an amazing, fast paced read. The pacing kept me on the edge of my seat and the suspense kept me glued to the story. Highly recommend.

I am a big fan of Karen McManus, but unfortunately this one missed the mark for me. It was definitely easy to read, but I didn’t feel fully engaged in the story, nor did I feel that connected to any of the characters. I would not dissuade anyone from reading this though, especially if you’re a fan of YA.

I'm beginning to feel that if you've read one Karen McManus book, you've read them all. There's the 80s teen movie inspiration (this time from Ferris Bueller), the murder mystery (this time the newly-elected student body president), and the in-group romance (this time two former friends who grew apart since middle school). If you're looking for something VERY similar to One Of Us Is Lying, go for it; but if you're looking for McManus to try something new, that's not what you'll get.

The first quarter or so is compulsively readable, but it drags a bit in the middle, picks up at the climax, and then becomes unbearably dull in the final 10% or so, before ending without much closure. I will likely continue to pick up McManus's books as they appear, because they're fast and (mostly) fun, and my students tend to love reading them; but I really hope she deviates from the formula soon.